Automotive body panels, such as underbody panels, door panels, engine box panels, etc. are designed to include many shapes and sizes of openings, both to reduce the weight of the panels and to allow access to operators for tools and various fasteners to assemble the vehicle. After assembly of the vehicle, some of these openings can end up in positions, for example along the underbody, such that the openings allow noise, debris, or both noise and debris to pass through the body panel and increase the noise within the interior cabin of the vehicle or cause corrosion of other vehicle parts exposed to the debris.
Known measures to seal openings from debris and noise within body panels, for example, using the prior art plug 100 shown in FIG. 1, are not sufficient when forces on the prior art plug 100 caused by, for example, road debris or excess pressure, push the prior art plug 100 out of the opening, allowing the noise and debris to enter the opening. This condition is shown in prior art FIG. 2. Prior art FIG. 2 shows an opening 200 disposed in a body panel 202. In this example, the body panel 202 is an underbody panel. FIG. 2 also shows the prior art plug 100 of FIG. 1 in a pushed-out or unseated position. This unseated position of the prior art plug 100, which was previously seated, can be caused by excess pressure or debris forcing the prior art plug 100 from the seated position within the opening 200 of the body panel 202 to the unseated or pushed-out position.
The prior art plug 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 can include an interior portion having a recessed trough 102 designed for use by an operator for insertion of the prior art plug 100. The prior art plug 100 can also include an exterior portion having an annular ring 104, the annular ring 104 formed of two opposed sealing surfaces 106, 108. The first (e.g. top) sealing surface 106 of the annular ring 104 is configured to lie against the front face of the body panel 202 when the prior art plug 100 is seated within the opening 200 and the second (e.g. bottom) sealing surface 108 of the annular ring 104 is configured to lie against the back face of the body panel 202 when the prior art plug 100 is seated within the opening 200.